YuSooKeywrote:
After all folks, CR itself was comprised of unlicensed, fan-subbed anime up until 2009. Best for us not to forget that.

There are also two important differences between CR and all the other fansub sites:

1. They didn't leach their video bandwidth off other sites (which also allows the current fansub sites to claim they don't host any pirated content). From a technical standpoint, that also meant no broken links to videos, because CR hosted them.

2. They "stepped into the light". I have yet to hear of a single other fansub website making any moves toward legitimacy. I don't even know of any that restrict streams of shows to countries that have free legal simulcasts of those same shows, or even put up a "Hey, you appear to be in <country> and could watch this legally at <site>", either of which would be a small step in that direction.

It should also be noted that CR was doing some legal streams back in 2008, before they went fully legit.

CR membership is convenient and that's typically what people will pay for, convenience. I could never in my life afford to buy every anime I want to watch so things like CR/Hulu/Netflix are a godsend.

Now sometimes I do come across a problem where an anime I'd like to watch isn't offered anywhere legally or not in HD quality or something, so though it may sound callus I will torrent it and watch it. If it's good enough I buy the DVD/BD it's as simple as that and I hate to sound like a thief but there it is. And if I'm being honest I actually download anime's that I already own as well because quite often the fansubs are easier to read and the typesetting is almost always more pleasant.

I use to do this some time ago. These days I do it occasionally, but only with titles I can't find commercially or no longer available as such. Otherwise I'd rather support CR and other sites that share such legally.

People these days want everything for free or cheap/easy. To each their own I guess.

Some people can't get certain animes because of where they live. Sometimes they may never get it! Most people I know who watch it on an "illegal" site buy tons of anime/manga. I think they're just such real fans they can't wait... And I watch anime everywhere! CR is where I go to watch new stuff though. I really think people should be a little more lenient. At least thats my opinion...

The whole reason I watch on CR, and the whole reason I'm willing to spend a ridiculous amount of money (for someone who earns none) on manga and anime is - if we don't pay, the creators don't eat.

EDIT: For the record, I consider Crunchyroll to be value for money, and cheap. The ridiculous amount would be the $700-$1000 I spend on manga, anime and merchandise every year. For someone who earns no money, it's a lot.

If more people pay for anime and manga, then more manga and anime can be created. However, lots of people don't see it this way, I think. More and more people nowadays feel that they don't need to pay for things when they can get them for free.

Which reminds me of this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up863eQKGUI (Wait, I've forgotten, can I post links in a forum or not... O_O better re-read the rules)

YuSooKeywrote:
After all folks, CR itself was comprised of unlicensed, fan-subbed anime up until 2009. Best for us not to forget that.

There are also two important differences between CR and all the other fansub sites:

1. They didn't leach their video bandwidth off other sites (which also allows the current fansub sites to claim they don't host any pirated content). From a technical standpoint, that also meant no broken links to videos, because CR hosted them.

2. They "stepped into the light". I have yet to hear of a single other fansub website making any moves toward legitimacy. I don't even know of any that restrict streams of shows to countries that have free legal simulcasts of those same shows, or even put up a "Hey, you appear to be in <country> and could watch this legally at <site>", either of which would be a small step in that direction.

It should also be noted that CR was doing some legal streams back in 2008, before they went fully legit.

I suppose I just don't take these laws seriously. Much like marijuana laws in certain states.

places such as hulu.com and theanimenetwork.com funimation.com
aniplex's web site and crackle as well as crunchyroll and vizanime.com and even netflix though i have never had a netflix account and hear the anime on it is in the decline.

one can find legal steam options where little existed and support anime.

The whole reason I watch on CR, and the whole reason I'm willing to spend a ridiculous amount of money (for someone who earns none) on manga and anime is - if we don't pay, the creators don't eat.

That's not actually true at all. Our contribution is next to nothing compared to anime fans in Japan. Right now we're living in a bubble where Japanese fans will still pay outrageous amounts of money for DVDs and Blurays of series they like which is what's funding the current anime trends in Japan. Our $5-15 a month depending on how we pay is nothing compared to the hundreds a single fan in Japan will pay for DVDs, figures, art books, character cds, event tickets, keychains, phone straps, and anything else you can think of for their favorite characters and series. It's why even temples in Japan now are creating anime, if they can strike a cord with fans they'll make hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

We don't pay for the creators to eat. What we pay for is localization. We pay for the translators to do their jobs.

This is why I mention the series I did.

Saint October
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_October

Good luck finding fansubs, the fansubbers quit at episode 21 (out of 26).

Now I'm more sensitive to the lack of response from the fansub community because my favorite genre (magical girls) is being eaten alive. But to go from everything, even the cutesiest of cutesiest shows like Kokoro Library http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokoro_Library
and Tiny Snowfairy Sugar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Snow_Fairy_Sugar
were getting subs to now when you're lucky if you have to wait 3 months for a new episode of Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Rhythm
to get subbed and you hope and pray the fansubbers haven't dropped it is a pretty sad situation to be in.

We literally cannot rely on fansubbing alone. It's untenable. People not getting paid for their work ends in people half-assing it and often times dropping something they lose interest in. If you're a fan of what they're working on, well screw you!

The more series Crunchyroll obtains the more fans pay for their work the more fansubbers can focus on series that seriously need attention.

Not all shows get licensed and Region locking prevents people from easily accessing the legit simulcast to those that do if they live in the wrong place although you can get around this but if they want more people using legit streams none of it should not be region locked outside of japan. Personally I don't care if people who have access to legal stream especially in the U.S where there's so many legit options want to use illegal means I buy my subscription here for myself and find it immensely useful don't need anyone else approval nor do I really care.

CR offers a very high quality and convenient service and I watch more anime now then I ever did thanks to it no way would never want to return to the old days of having to rely on just fansubbing and its just gotten better and better over the years(More series,higher quality,streaming,more supported devices,etc) and will likely continue to do so. For what it offers I consider the small subscription fee more then worth while. Seriously $7 a month in nothing one hour of work covers it for an entire month even if you make minimum wage and its even cheaper per month if you buy an entire years worth or wait for the black Friday deal where $50 gets you a one year subscription so just slightly over $4 a month.

Not all shows get licensed and Region locking prevents people from easily accessing the legit simulcast to those that do if they live in the wrong place although you can get around this but if they want more people using legit streams none of it should not be region locked outside of japan. Personally I don't care if people who have access to legal stream especially in the U.S where there's so many legit options want to use illegal means I buy my subscription here for myself and find it immensely useful don't need anyone else approval nor do I really care.

CR offers a very high quality and convenient service and I watch more anime now then I ever did thanks to it no way would never want to return to the old days of having to rely on just fansubbing and its just gotten better and better over the years(More series,higher quality,streaming,more supported devices,etc) and will likely continue to do so. For what it offers I consider the small subscription fee more then worth while. Seriously $7 a month in nothing one hour of work covers it for an entire month even if you make minimum wage and its even cheaper per month if you buy an entire years worth or wait for the black Friday deal where $50 gets you a one year subscription so just slightly over $4 a month.

Hear hear.

I also want to thank Crunchyroll for the following series. Without them I'm certain fansubs would either not exist or be stalled for years as with most similar shows.